Perez hospitalised after heavy shunt

Sergio Perez has been injured after a high-speed crash in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Sauber rookie lost control under braking at Turn 10 (Nouvelle Chicane), and slammed sideways into the barriers at well over 100mph.

Perez has been transferred to a hospital in Nice. Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn has reported that he is complaining of a headache, and is suffering from pain in his right leg, but otherwise is believed to be conscious and in good condition.

If he is in appropriate conditon to race, he will start in 10th place, after failing to set a time in Q3. Teammate Kamui Kobayashi is in 13th.

Interestingly, race director Charlie Whiting ordered the removal of the speed bumps at Turn 10 earlier this afternoon, after Nico Rosberg bounced over them in a similar, but less serious, crash. Jenson Button has since praised Whiting for the call, claiming Perez’s car could have been launched if the bumps had remained.

Update: Perez will remain in hospital overnight with a suspected concussion and sprained thigh, but no fractures or broken bones have been detected.